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You'll ne-e-ever walk alone! Yes it's another soccer simulation on the Speccy, and I'm glad to say it's a winner.
We're in Match Day territory here, and bearing in mind that it was Ocean (Imagine's parent company) who produced that classic, you'd be forgiven for expecting the odd similarity between the two games.
In terms of sophistication, though, Super Soccer probably has the edge. There's much more variety of movement, with more ways of kicking the ball and all sorts of extra features like diving headers and chesting down high balls. The goalkeeper can now move in virtually any direction, rather than just leaping to the left or right. Best of all, you can now foul people. Vicious sliding tackles recall the great days of Chopper Harris and Norman Hunter, though you can find yourself sent off at the slightest provocation - just like them.
Of course, with the Spectrum, you can't introduce new features without junking some old ones, and in this case it's the graphics that've suffered. Gone are the roly-poly figures we once saw, to be replaced by infinitely weedier specimens that clearly take up much less memory.
Control isn't as smooth, either. That, though, may just be me, 'cos with all the extra tricks your players can perform, Super Soccer is a hard game to into. It'll take a while before you start a match expecting to score a goal f'rinstance! Realising this, Imagine has laid on a practice mode, and you'll need it. Copious hints and lips are also included to stop you cracking up completely.
So, while beginners may find it a little heavy going, old campaigners at this sort of game should lap up Super Soccer. Get seven of your mates around (you can play a tournament of up to eight players) and give it a long throw-in from the touchline!


Verdict: 8/10
Review by Marcus Berkmann
£7.95

Here's another way to play football without getting covered in mud and sweat. In fact you don't even have to leave the comfort of your armchair to enjoy a spot of soccer.

At the start the player has to select from a number of options presented in menu form. These comprise the numbers of players controlled in any one game, the skill level, the game mode (match or tournament) the duration of a match, team colours and team names. By pressing the appropriate key, these options can be selected and displayed on the screen.

Up to eight players can be controlled at once. There are three skill levels starting at quite simple and progressing to rather tricky. The number of people playing soccer partly determines the mode of the match - you can play a tournament or just have a single game. There is even a practice option so the player can perfect control of the team. Games can range from just ten minutes duration right up to half an hour.

The screen's starts off green, but if you find this a little rough on the eyes then the pitch colour can be changed at will, as can the colour of team strips to make sure the players show up properly on the screen in your new colour scheme.

The main screen shows the pitch which scrolls left and right with the action. At the top of the screen the speed, energy and force factors of the player you're currently controlling are shown. The player nearest the ball is the one you control and this is indicated by a halo appearing above his head. When free kicks or corners are to be taken the screen flips to an aerial view of the pitch and the players can be moved about using a cursor.

The footballers on screen are capable of performing a wide range of complicated manoeuvres accessed from keyboard or joystick, and effort spent mastering the controls will pay dividends once serious play begins. Like all serious footballers, you have to be in training!



CRITICISM
'Ho hum it looks like IMAGINE have tried to better Match Day - and in theory this is superior, but unfortunately in practice the game is slow and unresponsive. Controlling your player uses a set of joystick waggles or key presses that would be better suited to a fighting simulator, and the game kept me foxed for some time. Graphically Super Soccer is disappointing. The characters are nicely animated but there is so much colour clash that the effect is spoiled. The sound is on the whole quite good, with a lovely tune on the title screen, but the effects during the game are a bit lame.'
BEN

'I'm really disappointed with this. The ideas that are set out in the inlay fooled me into thinking it was going to be Match Day but with more moves. Unfortunately the author seems to have spent too much time concentrating on incorporating loads and loads of moves and features, but sadly he forgot a computer game also needs playability. If found it quite unplayable. I also found loads of bugs which wreck play completely. For instance when you get fouled, if you choose the fouled player to take the kick (a reasonable request, I thought), everything locks up completely as the player will not get up off the floor when told to. To my mind, this is too slow to be any fun to play. Not really Super Soccer, more like Nearly Good Soccer.'
PAUL

'Why has somebody reprogrammed Match Day, taken out the good bits, and replaced them with bits that don't work property, and then called it Super Soccer'? The graphics are dated, and the way the game is obviously supposed to fit together hasn't worked. The speed, energy and force bars contribute little, and the sound is fairly poor - there's nothing more than whistles during the game. A good long time on, and I don't think there are any notable improvements. Give me Match Day, any day. At least that was playable.'
MIKE

COMMENTS
Control keys: definable - up, down, left, right, kick
Joystick: Kempston, Cursor, Interface 2
Use of colour: a little clash, but colour of pitch, strips and border definable
Graphics: poorly animated characters - tends to get messy
Sound: odd little tune and plenty of effects
Skill levels: three
Screens: scrolling pitch and place kick display
General Rating: Potentially a good football simulator, but falls down owing to too many inconsistencies.

Presentation 76%
Graphics 64%
Playability 55%
Addictiveness 58%
Value for Money 54%
Overall 56%